O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them with love, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory, endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern, that the flourishing of a holy flock may become the eternal joy of the shepherds. Through our Lord.

* * *

Today's liturgy is a memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Son of Gordianus, a Roman regionarius, and Saint Silvia of Rome. Nephew of Saint Emiliana and Saint Tarsilla. Great-grandson of Pope Saint Felix III. Educated by the finest teachers in Rome, Italy.

Prefect of Rome for a year, then he sold his possessions, turned his home into a Benedictine monastery, and used his money to build six monasteries in Sicily and one in Rome. Benedictine monk.

Upon seeing English children being sold in the Roman Forum, he became a missionary to England.

Elected 64th Pope by unanimous acclamation on September 3, 590, the first monk to be chosen.

Sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury and a company of monks to evangelize England, and other missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa.

Collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chants.

One of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church. Wrote seminal works on the Mass and Divine Office, several of them dictated to his secretary, Saint Peter the Deacon.

Born c.540 at Rome, Italy; died March 12, 604 at Rome of natural causes.

* * * * * *

Abbé Gérard-Majella Séguin (1919-2010)

Demain à 10h00 dans la basilique cathédrale de Notre Dame, je présiderai les funérailles de l'abbé Gérard-Majella Séguin, décédé la nuit du 30 août.

Agé de 91 ans, l'abbé Seguin s'est dévoué au service du peuple de Dieu comme prêtre de paroisse et formateur des séminaristes:

Ordonné en 1944, l’abbé Seguin a été vicaire à Saint-André-Avellin (Québec) (1944-46) et curé de ces paroisses d'Ottawa: St Rémi (1966-69), St Louis Marie de Montfort (1969-73), Notre Dame de la Présentation (1973-85).

Il a aussi été professeur au Petit séminaire d'Ottawa (1946-62); administrateur de la Mission Nativité de N.S.J.C., Ottawa (1962-63); et vice supérieur du Petit séminaire (1963-69).

Requiescat in pace.

* * * * * *

STEPHEN HAWKING'S BOLD CLAIM: SCIENCE ELIMINATES GOD

Yesterday's on-line edition of the Ottawa Citizen featured prominently Stephen Hawking's claim in his latest book that one can no longer postulate God as an explanation for the universe. Instead, spontaneously on account of the law of gravity, everything came from nothing.

The comments following the article were extensive and many of them withdrawn as unsuited to civil dialogue.

Promptly on the Catholic Herald website, there was a rejoinder, one of many we are likely to find in coming days.

Here is an initial reflection by Quentin de la Bedoyere (www.catholicherald.co.uk):

Stephen Hawking still can’t explain how something came from nothingEven if physicists had a Grand Theory of Everything, they could not solve creation.

So that’s that then. Stephen Hawking has assured us that the laws of physics are sufficient to explain the universe we live in – and that we have no need to posit the possibility of God. His book, The Grand Design, will be published on September 9.

This is neither the time nor the place to focus on the detail of his arguments, and no doubt plenty of description will be forthcoming in the popular press and elsewhere. I want to focus initially on one remark he makes: “philosophy is dead.”

Bang goes the wisdom of two and a half millennia. But philosophy is not only not dead, it was never needed as much as it is now. One of the most important tasks in philosophy is to ensure that the right questions are asked and that the arguments which proceed stand up to rigorous examination. No wonder Hawking would like philosophy to be dead because he is wrong on both counts.

The drive of Hawking’s approach is that the theory, or rather the family of theories, he espouses leads to the possibility of 10 to the power of 500 different universes (try that on your calculator and watch it explode). Thus the extraordinary fine-tuning required for a universe which would eventually be able to support human life is not evidence for a designer God; it has in fact come about by chance. Since our universe is, by definition, the only one we can experience, we are fooled into thinking that it is the only one which exists, or has existed.

M theory, as it is known, is highly controversial within the scientific community; indeed there are eminent names who claim that it cannot properly be called a scientific theory at all. The idea of multiverses to explain the fine-tuning has been known as the “last refuge of the agnostic”. But let us assume that it is true, that there is an infinity of universes, and that our universe is an inevitable result of chance at work – where does that get us?

First, we are reminded of the theory of evolution. We have no difficulty in reconciling our belief in God as creator with evolution in which myriads of tiny chances, inevitably filtered by fitness to survive, develop into higher forms of life. God is not some sort of inventive superman who performs in the same sort of way as we do – but at an infinitely higher level. He transcends the universe; his creative action is utterly beyond our ken. If we use terms like “designer” it is only because the human mind and human vocabulary has no further reach. Our descriptions are only useful if we always bear in mind their gross inadequacy.

Similarly, if all the physical laws had been explained and proved (known as the Grand Theory of Everything) – which is a million miles from the case – our understanding of the actions of God would not be one whit greater: his existence and his actions are of a different order.

Most particularly it would not touch the question of how something existing comes out from nothing. That is a question which science cannot answer, and will never answer, because nothingness is not within its domain. Hawking apparently does not address this question – which is the true and ultimate Theory of Everything. But what philosophy can teach us is that neither he, nor you, nor I will ever explain creation, except through faith.

Today in places where there is deep commitment to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the optional memorial of Blessed Frederick Ozanam (1813-53), its founder, is possible.

Frederick died on 8th September, but as that is also the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his feast has been brought forward to the second.

An accomplished linguist and Dante scholar, he also found time to care for the poor. The society he started has over a million members in 32 countries.

Frederick was one of four out fourteen children in his family to survive infancy.
His father was an officer in Napoleon's army. Frederick was born in Milan, but the family moved back to Lyon.

He studied at the College Royal and was interested in both law and literature. He became involved with a group of liberal Catholic intellectuals - Emmanuel Bailly, historians Montalambert and Chateaubriand, the Romantic poet Lamartine and the Dominican preacher Lacordaire.

This group along with a Daughter of Charity named Rosalie Rendu began the lay institute dedicated to caring for the physical and spiritual well-being of the poor.

Frederick took his doctorate in law in 1836 and although his father died around this time, he went on to gain a doctorate in literature with a thesis on Dante's philosophy.

In 1845 Frederick moved from Lyon to Paris and married Amalie who soon gave birth to a daughter. He combined an academic career with lecturing to the Cercle catholique and visiting the poor.

An accomplished linguist, he was promoted to professor in 1846 and began a project on the literary history of the Middle Ages from the fifth century to Dante. But he contracted tuberculosis and his health began to fail.

With Lacordaire he started a journal expounding Christian socialist principles. He went to Italy in 1853 partly for health reasons but also to collect a prestigious award for his work on Dante. On the return journey he collapsed and died at Marseilles on 8th September 1853.

Pope John Paul beatified him in August 1997, expressing the hope that more married people would be canonized.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul has over a million members in 32 countires (thanks to Patrick Duffy--www.catholicireland.net).

* * * * * *

The Capital's Congolese Community Celebrates Confirmation

On Sunday afternoon, I presided at a late-summer celebration of Confirmation for six members of the Congolese community that gathers each Sunday afternoon at 3:30PM at Eglise Saint-Charles Borromee on Beechwood.

The music is rhythmical and passionate, and the dress is "Sunday best" and colourful.

Plus, after photos for all and sundry, not just the confirmands, there followed a reception in the parish hall with a tasty spread of food from Congo's best cooks.

Herewith some photos of this special occasion.

Today's blog features statues: for the Capital contains many of them along with explanatory plaques.

About a week ago, in reading the notation besides the Terry Fox statue on Wellington and Metcalfe streets, opposite Parliament Hill and outside the Information Office, I noticed that Terry was forced to end his 1980 Marathon of Hope on September 1 of that year, making today the 30th anniversary of that moving day.

Besides a couple of pictorial angles on the statue, here is the Wikipedia entry on Fox:

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, CC, OD (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist.

In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Though the spread of his cancer forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his determination and example created a lasting, worldwide legacy.

The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$500 million has been raised in his name.

Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for his Port Coquitlam, British Columbia high school and Simon Fraser University. His right leg was amputated in 1977 after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, though he continued to run using an artificial leg. He also played wheelchair basketball in Vancouver, winning three national championships.

In 1980, he began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research. Fox hoped to raise one dollar for each of Canada's 24 million people. He started with little fanfare from St. John's, Newfoundland in April and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day.

Fox had become a national star by the time he reached Ontario; he made numerous public appearances with businessmen, athletes, and politicians in his efforts to raise money. He was forced to end his run outside of Thunder Bay when the cancer spread to his lungs. His hopes of overcoming the disease and completing his marathon ended when he died nine months later.

Fox was the youngest person ever named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian award. He won the 1980 Lou Marsh Award as the nation's top sportsman and was named Canada's Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. Considered a national hero, he has had many buildings, roads and parks named in his honour across the country. --www.wikipedia.org

* * * * * *

MGR JOSEPH-THOMAS DUHAMEL 2ND BISHOP, 1ST ARCHBISHOP OF OTTAWA

Statue of Mgr Joseph-Thomas Duhamel outside Ottawa's Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica (corner of Sussex and Guigues)

On this day in 1874, Blessed Pope Pius IX named the pastor of the Parish of St. Eugène on the eastern boundary of the diocese as the 2nd bishop of Ottawa. Earlier that year, the first bishop of Ottawa, Mgr Joseph-Eugène-Bruno Guigues, O.M.I. had died on February 8.

On June 8, 1886, Duhamel would become the 1st archbishop when the see was elevated to metropolitan status. The following is a brief description of some of Mgr Duhamel's time of service (www.fr.academic.ru/dic.nsf/frwiki/888002):

Joseph-Thomas Duhamel (6 novembre 1841 - 1909) était le deuxième évêque d'Ottawa et le premier archevêque d'Ottawa.

Né à Contrecœur, il fut ordonné prêtre le 19 décembre 1863 après des études au collège d'Ottawa avec les oblats.

Curé de Buckingham, ses qualités admistratives sont reconnues et il fut envoyé pour construire l'église de la paroisse de Saint-Eugène. Il assista au concile Vatican I avec son évêque en tant que théologien.

Pie IX le nomma évêque d'Ottawa le 1er septembre 1874 et il fut consacré le 28 octobre suivant par Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau.

Le 8 juin 1886, son diocèse est élevé en archevêché et il est nommé archevêque. Très dévoué à la cause de l'instruction, il fonde plusieurs écoles et paroisses dans sa région et améliore la condition des francophones catholiques.

En outre, il ordonne Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve à la prêtrise et fonde le vicariat du Pontiac.

Il fut témoin du grand incendie de Hull de 1900 et il vit l'Université d'Ottawa tomber proie aux flammes le 2 décembre 1903. Ces événements assombrirent la fin de son épiscopat.

Après avoir donné sa vie entière pour le bien de sa communauté, il mourut le 5 juin 1909. La municipalité de Duhamel a été nommée en son honneur.

Tomorrow is the beginning of September and there is a change in the Pope's monthly prayer intentions. Here are the new ones (September 2010):

•General Intention: The Word of God as Incentive for Social Development. That the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people's hearts, encouraging them to work toward authentic social progress.

•Mission Intention: End of War. That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.

* * * * * *



Urban Mural in Lower Town/La Basse Ville

At my Sunday visit to Ottawa's Patro, I saw notices of the dedication of a large mural at the Park located at 400 Clarence Street, in effect right next door.

So, I spent a few minutes searching it out and then taking photograph's of the interests of the youth who painted the mural.

Hope they brighten up your day, as they did mine:

Yesterday, I presided at the installation of frere Edouard Ntiyankundiye, c.b.y. as the administrator of Paroisse Sainte Anne in Lower Town.

We had thought that the church, which suffered the collapse of its west transept in spring 2009 and recently has been undergoing repairs, would have been the venue for this service when planning began for it earlier in July.

Initially, hopes had been raised that parishioners would be able to return for Sunday Mass on August 15.

However, City of Ottawa inspectors recently expressed ongoing concerns about safety issues for those entering the church. So occupancy of the church by parishioners has been put off yet again; it is hoped occupancy can be restored by the early fall.

The church, built in 1873 and possessed of a heritage site designation, is no longer completely surrounded by the barrier of a fence, but some parts of the grounds are off limits as repairs continue.

Scaffolding is visible next to the rectory:



The new parish priest's ministry was duly inaugurated and a reception was held in the Patro d'Ottawa, near the church, where Lord's Day Masses and Feast Days have been celebrated since the church was closed to parishioners last year.







Now, it is my hope to return for a Thanksgiving Mass to celebrate the return of parishioners to their church, once inspectors give the green light indicating all is safe.

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year "C") August 29, 2010 "THOSE WHO HUMBLE THEMSELVES WILL BE EXALTED" [Texts: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; [Psalm 68]; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14]

Around the year 180 B.C., Jesus the son of Sirach, gave instruction on wisdom to the youth of Jerusalem. His counsels and maxims told how one could become a success in life. How one could please God and other people.

Modesty and humility were part of the ideal toward which the would-be wise person aspired. For these virtues were a reflection of Israel's God who had chosen to be close to the poor and needy ("Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; He leads out the prisoners to prosperity").

Sirach pointed out that the humble person "will be loved by those whom God accepts". Within God's household, then, all should come to share a single outlook. Sirach's principle was: "the greater you are the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord".

Gospel humility is not the fawning humility of a Uriah Heep in Dickens's David Copperfield. Rather, true humility is that which acknowledges one's primary status as that of a creature of God. Each person is made in the divine likeness and constantly receives all good things from God: life, abilities, achievements, all that one has come to have and possess ("to the humble the Lord reveals His secrets").

Therefore, no one claims talents or endowments--or the achievements which these allow one to accomplish--as anything other than divinely-bestowed gifts, to be used for God's glory. The honour or status that a person receives through recognition by others is put into true perspective only when one realizes that the only true standing is that which one has in the eyes of God.

In the ancient world, meals were important social ceremonies where little was left to chance. In Luke's gospel, we find observations that people noted where and with whom one ate (5:29-30), whether one performed hand-washing rituals before meals (11:38) and where one sat to eat.

Pliny the Younger's Letters critiqued the meal etiquette of his day, noting that the amount and quality of food depended on how close one sat to the host: "some very elegant dishes were served up to himself and a few more of the company; while those which were placed before the rest were cheap and paltry".

Jesus exposed the grasping dispositions that motivated both host and guests. Though some think He simply counselled guests how to play the game more shrewdly ("so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'"), Jesus did not suggest the guest take a place several notches below his or her station. Instead, Jesus advised His disciples to take the "last place".

The "honour" or "glory" each would receive resided as much in God's presence as in their standing among mortals whose perspective was limited. Jesus hints at the end-time reward of heaven: "for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted [by God]".

Likewise, Jesus' advice to hosts is directed at God's end-time rewards. Hosts are prone to being hooked by the reciprocity system, thinking "those I invite must invite me in return; I will benefit not only from good meals but also by the honour and status associated with the wealthy and powerful".

Gospel values require that one not invite "your friends or your brothers or relatives or rich neighbours" but "the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind". Because these cannot repay you now, their patron--God!--will repay you at the "resurrection of the righteous".

Following the advice of Jesus means entering into a new value system where God does the rewarding and continues giving generously.

God's abundant giving also underlies the passage from Hebrews. There the Christian assembly is invited to see itself joining God's festal gathering where all share the status of "the firstborn who are enroled in heaven" and "the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect" by the "new covenant" God established through Jesus.

This is not a frightening reality--as one might imagine the encounter at Mount Sinai was--but implies being part of an assembly permeated by joy and peace.

* * * * * *

SOEURS DE SAINTE MARIE DE NAMUR

Hier matin, le vicaire pour les réligieuses et réligieux du diocèse, l'abbé Daniel Berniquez et moi sommes allés visiter nos voisines du 101 rue Parent à l'occasion d'une visite de la Supérieure Générale, Sr. Rejeanne Roussel, SSMN.

Après la messe à la mémoire de Saint Augustin, on a pris un léger petit déjeuner, en partagent des informations sur le plan international et des nouvelles de la communauté au Canada.

"Un esprit dynamique de simplicité et de joie a permis aux Soeurs de Sainte-Marie de Namur de répondre aux besoins changeants de l'Eglise.

Je crois qu'en continuant à lire les signes des temps, en accompagnant ceux qui sont dans le besoin ou qui souffrent, en nous tenant comme des phares d'espérance et en vivant les béatitudes, nous pouvons rendre différent ce monde vulnérable.

Veuillez nous soutenir par votre prière."

--Sr. Rejeanne Roussel, SSMN (www.ssmn-e.com)

Today in the liturgy, the Church rightly celebrates the memorial of one its greatest theological minds and spiritual writers, Saint Augustine (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430).



The Confessions or The City of God alone would be a monument to any author, but there are hundreds of other writings of this striking personality that have shaped the Church as he defended the truth ["Veritas in the painting] against the manifold errors of his day (Donatists, Pelagians, etc).

* * *

Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord, the spirit with which you endowed your Bishop Saint Augustine that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for you, the sole fount of true wisdom, and seek you, the author of heavenly love. Through Christ our Lord.

* * *

My favourite excerpt from the Confessions is the text for the Office of Readings for today's memorial:

Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance the innermost places of my being; but only because you had become my helper was I able to do so. I entered, then, and with the vision of my spirit, such as it was, I saw the incommutable light far above my spiritual ken and transcending my mind: not this common light which every carnal eye can see, nor any light of the same order; but greater, as though this common light were shining much more powerfully, far more brightly, and so extensively as to fill the universe. The light I saw was not the common light at all, but something different, utterly different, from all those things. Nor was it higher than my mind in the sense that oil floats on water or the sky is above the earth; it was exalted because this very light made me, and I was below it because by it I was made. Anyone who knows truth knows this light.

O eternal Truth, true Love, and beloved Eternity, you are my God, and for you I sigh day and night. As I first began to know you, you lifted me up and showed me that, while that which I might see exists indeed, I was not yet capable of seeing it. Your rays beamed intensely on me, beating back my feeble gaze, and I trembled with love and dread. I knew myself to be far away from you in a region of unlikeness, and I seemed to hear your voice from on high: “I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me”.

Accordingly I looked for a way to gain the strength I needed to enjoy you, but I did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who is also God, supreme over all things and blessed for ever. He called out, proclaiming I am the Way and Truth and the Life, nor had I known him as the food which, though I was not yet strong enough to eat it, he had mingled with our flesh, for the Word became flesh so that your Wisdom, through whom you created all things, might become for us the milk adapted to our infancy.

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.


[Saint Ambrose baptizing Saint Augustine by Benozzo Gozzoli (c. 1464-65), apsidal chapel, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano, Italy]

* * *

Flood the Path with Light,
God of our life,
there are days when the burdens we carry
chafe our shoulders and weigh us down;
when the road seems dreary and endless,
the skies grey and threatening;
when our lives have no music in them,
and our hearts are lonely,
and our souls have lost their courage.

Flood the Path with Light,
turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise;
tune our hearts to brave music;
give us the sense of comradeship
with heroes and saints of every age;
and so quicken our spirits
that we may be able to encourage
the souls of all who journey
with us on the road of life,
to your honour and glory. [attributed to St. Augustine]

* * * * * *

CARDINAL OUELLET TAKES UP HIS NEW CHARGE

Unless there has been a change in plans, today sees Cardinal Marc Ouellet begin his new ministry in Rome. His Eminence is pictured left with Deborah Gyapong at a final interview in Quebec prior to his departure for Rome.

August is usually a quiet time in Rome but the memorial of the great Bishop of Hippo and Doctor [i.e. Teacher] of the Church seems a particularly apt occasion for His Eminence to begin his new duties. He will be searching out candidates for episcopal office to recommend to the Holy Father according to certain criteria.

In his interview with Deborah Gyapong, Cardinal Ouellet, described the kind of ecclesial leaders he senses the Church of Christ requires in this particular moment of salvation history: bold “men of faith” who have “the guts to help people live it out.”

A bishop has to lead the community, so he needs a deep supernatural vision as well as the capacity to assess the political, cultural, and sociological context.... Above all, a bishop must be “audacious in proposing the Word and in believing in the Power of the Word and the power of the Spirit.”

“We have to dare to speak to the deep heart, where the Spirit of the Lord is touching people beyond what we can calculate,” said Ouellet. “We need spiritual discernment and not just political calculation of the risk of the possibility of the message being received.”....

The need for unity and solidarity goes far beyond any political statements, he said, but involves a personal commitment that rises beyond a dogmatic faith to an “existential faith that means spiritual discernment of the presence of God and of God’s will.”

We are in a world where the Christian heritage being strongly contested, so we have to recognize that and propose it better, though not through an attempt to restore the past, he said.

“We have to tell people about the Crucified and Risen Lord, who is shaping the Church today, with people faithful to His Word, to His Divine Presence and to the community he wants to see living of His Spirit.”

A bishop must always take a personal approach, he said. Bishops not only must state dogmatic positions, they must believe in them deeply, “then you have the power of conviction.”

“If you state it only formally and in the end you do not really want to see it applied because you don’t believe that it is possible that people accept it, you are in trouble for the transmission of the message,” he said.

Bishops must also be close to people, he said. Being spiritual does not mean keeping a distance.

“The Lord has given us his own heart to be a presence of His heart in the midst of the people,” the cardinal said. “So we have to be aware of that and cultivate what we call holiness, unity with Him, daily unity, in a way that is very human and very spiritual.”

He advocated an ascetical attitude in prayer to maintain purity of heart. “The love of the people is fulfilling the life of the priest.”...

Ouellet called for openness to new movements in the Church, and expressed hopes those already in Quebec, such as Famille Marie-Jeunesse, Catholic Christian Outreach, and the Eucharistic movement around the Youth Summit/Montee Jeunesse will “multiply.”

“I believe deeply there will be a new evangelization,” he said.

The Cardinal also called for a new intellectual dynamism, especially a reform of education to “recapture the spirit of Christianity and “create a new Christian culture.”

“We need intellectuals for that, theologians, philosophers, Christians who really believe in the Gospel and share the doctrine of the Church on moral questions,” he said.

“We have suffered from this mentality of dissent” that is “still dominating the intelligentsia.”

“There is no real discipleship there, real discipleship,” he said. “The discipleship that is emerging is from those who believe and who really love the Church.”

* * *

Mgr Lacroix Quebec Administrator

Meantime, yesterday the bishops of Canada were informed that Auxiliary Bishop Mgr Gerald Cyprien Lacroix has been chosen diocesan administrator for the Archdiocese of Quebec until the nomination of a successor to Cardinal Ouellet.

Best wishes to, and prayers for, Bishop Lacroix as he assumes these new responsibilities.

Andrea del Verocchio, Saint Monica

O God, who console the sorrowful and who mercifully accepted the motherly tears of Saint Monica for the conversion of her son Augustine, grant us, through the intercession of them both, that we may bitterly regret our sins and find the grace of your pardon. Through our Lord.

* * * * * *

Today the church remembers Saint Monica, a saint especially revered by mothers because of her tireless prayers for the conversion of her wayward son, Augustine, was born of Christian parents in Tagaste, North Africa in 333, and died in Ostia, near Rome, in 387. She was married young to a government official, Patricius, who was not a Christian, and had a bad temper, though she bore her burdens patiently, and their life together was relatively peaceful. Three children were born to, Augustine, Navigius, and a daughter, Perpetua.

Augustine, the eldest son, though brilliant, was, according to his own account, a lazy and dissolute youth whose bad behavior caused his mother much grief ­ especially so after he went away to school at Madaura and to Carthage. Although Patricius became a Christian not long before he died, Augustine persisted in his pursuit of pleasure, and, as a nineteen-year-old student, joined the heretical Manichaean sect. When he began to spout heresies, Monica became alarmed, and intensified her efforts to bring him to Christ. In the Confessions, Augustine recounts Monica's dream which consoled and encouraged her:

"In her dream she saw herself standing on a sort of wooden rule, and saw a bright youth approaching her, joyous and smiling at her, while she was grieving and bowed down with sorrow. But when he inquired of her the cause of her sorrow and daily weeping (not to learn from her, but to teach her, as is customary in visions), and when she answered that it was my soul's doom she was lamenting, he bade her rest content and told her to look and see that where she was there I was also. And when she looked she saw me standing near her on the same rule." (Confessions, Book III, 9.14).

During this anguished period of prayer for her son, Monica consulted a bishop who had himself been a Manichaean before he became a Christian. He declined to intervene with Augustine, whom, the bishop correctly observed, was not open to hearing the truth. She persisted tearfully, but he refused to intervene.

Nevertheless, the bishop consoled Monica that "the child of those tears shall never perish", which she took as a sign from God. Though he continued in his heresies for nine years, Monica followed Augustine to Rome and then to Milan.in an effort to rescue her son from his errors. In Milan she met Ambrose, who helped lead Augustine into the true faith.

A few months after his conversion, Augustine, Monica and Adeodatus, set out to return to Africa, but Monica died at Ostia, the ancient port city of Rome, and she was buried there. Augustine was so deeply moved by his mother's death that he was inspired to write his Confessions, "So be fulfilled what my mother desired of me--more richly in the prayers of so many gained for her through these confessions of mine than by my prayers alone" (Book IX.13.37)

An account of Monica's early life, her childhood, marriage, her final days and her death, is given in Confessions Book IX, 8-12. He expresses his gratitude for her life:

"I will not speak of her gifts, but of thy gift in her; for she neither made herself nor trained herself. Thou didst create her, and neither her father nor her mother knew what kind of being was to come forth from them. And it was the rod of thy Christ, the discipline of thy only Son, that trained her in thy fear, in the house of one of thy faithful ones who was a sound member of thy Church" (IX.8.7).

Centuries later, Monica's body was reburied in Rome, and eventually her relics were interred in a chapel left of the high altar of the Church of St. Augustine in Rome.

* * * * * *

The day now approaching whereon she was to depart this life (which day Thou well knewest, we knew not), it came to pass, Thyself, as I believe, by Thy secret ways so ordering it, that she and I stood alone, leaning in a certain window, which looked into the garden of the house where we now lay, at Ostia; where removed from the din of men, we were recruiting from the fatigues of a long journey, for the voyage.

We were discoursing then together, alone, very sweetly; and forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, we were enquiring between ourselves in the presence of the Truth, which Thou art, of what sort the eternal life of the saints was to be, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man. But yet we gasped with the mouth of our heart, after those heavenly streams of Thy fountain, the fountain of life, which is with Thee; that being bedewed thence according to our capacity, we might in some sort meditate upon so high a mystery.

And when our discourse was brought to that point, that the very highest delight of the earthly senses, in the very purest material light, was, in respect of the sweetness of that life, not only not worthy of comparison, but not even of mention; we raising up ourselves with a more glowing affection towards the ‘Self-same’, did by degrees pass through all things bodily, even the very heaven whence sun and moon and stars shine upon the earth; yea, we were soaring higher yet, by inward musing, and discourse, and admiring of Thy works; and we came to our own minds, and went beyond them, that we might arrive at that region of never-failing plenty, where Thou feedest Israel for ever with the food of truth, and where life is the Wisdom by whom all these things are made, and what have been, and what shall be, and she is not made, but is, as she hath been, and so shall she be ever; yea rather, to ‘have been’, and ‘hereafter to be’, are not in her, but only ‘to be’, seeing she is eternal. For to ‘have been’, and to ‘be hereafter’, are not eternal. And while we were discoursing and panting after her, we slightly touched on her with the whole effort of our heart; and we sighed, and there we leave bound the first fruits of the Spirit; and returned to vocal expressions of our mouth, where the word spoken has beginning and end. And what is like unto Thy Word, our Lord, who endureth in Himself without becoming old, and maketh all things new?

We were saying then: If to any the tumult of the flesh were hushed, hushed the images of earth, and waters, and air, hushed also the pole of heaven, yea the very soul be hushed to herself, and by not thinking on self surmount self, hushed all dreams and imaginary revelations, every tongue and every sign, and whatsoever exists only in transition, since if any could hear, all these say, We made not ourselves, but He made us that abideth for ever—If then having uttered this, they too should be hushed, having roused only our ears to Him who made them, and He alone speak, not by them, but by Himself, that we may hear His Word, not through any tongue of flesh, nor Angel’s voice, nor sound of thunder, nor in the dark riddle of a similitude, but might hear Whom in these things we love, might hear His Very Self without these (as we two now strained ourselves, and in swift thought touched on that Eternal Wisdom which abideth over all);—could this be continued on, and other visions of kind far unlike be withdrawn, and this one ravish, and absorb, and wrap up its beholder amid these inward joys, so that life might be for ever like that one moment of understanding which now we sighed after; were not this, Enter into thy Master’s joy? And when shall that be? When we shall all rise again, though we shall not all be changed?

Such things was I speaking, and even if not in this very manner, and these same words, yet, Lord, Thou knowest that in that day when we were speaking of these things, and this world with all its delights became, as we spake, contemptible to us, my mother said, ‘Son, for mine own part I have no further delight in any thing in this life. What I do here any longer, and to what end I am here, I know not, now that my hopes in this world are accomplished. One thing there was for which I desired to linger for a while in this life, that I might see thee a Catholic Christian before I died. My God hath done this for me more abundantly, that I should now see thee withal, despising earthly happiness, become His servant: what do I here?’ (Confessions, IX.)

There follows St Monica’s final sickness, and then her passing. Finally, in , St Augustine writes:

On the ninth day then of her sickness, and the fifty-sixth year of her age, and the three-and-thirtieth of mine, was that religious and holy soul freed from the body. . . . For we thought it not fitting to solemnise that funeral with tearful lament, and groanings; for thereby do they for the most part express grief for the departed, as though unhappy, or altogether dead; whereas she was neither unhappy in her death, nor altogether dead. Of this we were assured on good grounds, the testimony of her good conversation and her faith unfeigned (Confessions, IX.xi-xii).

* * * * * *

SEMINARY FORMATION PROGRAMS RESUME



In a few days the new seminarians will be reporting for their orientation programs and, a few days later, returning candidates for the priesthood will be taking up studies again or entering upon the pastoral internship year.

So it was that several members of my staff, the vocations committee and some residents joined with most of the seminarians [a couple were absent] for a brief gathering yesterday afternoon and evening.

There was Mass in the Archbishops' Chapel, followed by supper on the patio at my residence and, for those who had not yet taken part, a brief overview of the history of the Archdiocese through visiting the formal reception rooms at 143 St. Patrick Street.

Please join in prayers of gratitude for the new men who have been accepted into the priestly formation program, keeping them and their formators at the seminaries and parishes in thought and prayer.

Ongoing prayers for vocations are still needed for the many other future priests we need.

The Vocation Director Father Tim Mccauley guides the Quo Vadis meeting to reflect on vocational matters on the Third Friday of each month. Men interested in discerning a vocation to priestly service of God's people in this forum or by private encounter may contact Father Tim Mccauley (tmccauley@archottawa.ca or [613] 738-5025, ext. 218) for help in discerning a possible call.

One hundred years ago today, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Albania. To mark the occasion the United States of America is issuing a commemorative stamp as have other nations.



After entering the Loretto Sisters in Ireland, and spending her first years as a religious teaching in Darjeeling India, she was inspired, in responding to "a call within a call" to found the Missionaries of Charity some sixty-four years ago on September 10, 1946.

Known to the world as Mother Teresa, the sari-habited nun proclaimed the joy of serving Christ in the "poorest of the poor", even as she experienced deep interior spiritual desolation, a profound test of faith (cf. her spiritual notes in Come Be My Light).

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate died on September 5, 1997 and, in record time for modern recognition for sanctity, was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003.



* * *

The Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa, has no set plan for the future, revealed the current Mother Superior.

In an interview released on Monday by Fides news agency, she said that Mother Teresa left them only with her constant advice: to become ever more holy.

German-born Sister Mary Prema spoke with Fides as the 100th anniversary of Blessed Mother Teresa's birth, celebrated on Aug. 26, approaches.

Mother Teresa's "only goal" of loving Jesus and transmitting that love to others is the legacy she left to the Missionaries of Charity, said Sr. Mary.

Asked what major challenges the order under her direction expects in the future, she answered that the Missionaries of Charity don't make plans too far in advance. "We try to remain open to what God asks of us," she explained.

"Only Jesus will tell me what is the next step. So, in the spirit of Mother, I'm not the one who controls things. God is the one who decides."

Mother Teresa, she explained, "never gave us any indications of future plans besides the fact that we should always strive to become more holy! This was her constant advice."

As Mother Superior she continues to follow the example of Mother Teresa as the head of the order, making informed decisions based on discussion and considering all the information available, she explained.

In responding to the challenges offered by the world in her day, the founder had a way of listening to Jesus and to the world, recalled Sister Mary. "She was very generous towards God and towards those suffering beside her. In this, we want to imitate her."

Remembering the strong witness of the founder, she said, "Through her life, her work, her charisma, she brought those around her to God. She did not preach, but she testified with her own life."

People continue to approach Sister Mary today to recount their experiences of moments shared with Mother Teresa. Many, she said, Hindus included, were only in her presence for a short time, but "that one moment changed their lives forever."

While they may not have converted, she said, "they began to see their lives and their work with different eyes and have become other people, living in a different way, based on love and mercy, within their own families."

Asked when the blessed might be canonized, Sr. Mary said she didn't think that it was important.

"Everyone knows that she is a saint - both Hindus and Christians here in Calcutta and in most places where we are present - this is beyond doubt. Everyone expects a miracle … but Mother Teresa was the same miracle for the world and humanity."

* * *

CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN OUTREACH (CCO) MEETS IN OTTAWA

The National Executive of CCO is meeting at the Diocesan Centre, August 25-26.

Members have come from Dartmouth, Gatineau, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver and San Diego to consider long-term strategy and issues such as recruitment and retention of missionaries, training needs, benefits, etc.

CCO this coming academic year will expand to the University of Calgary and, in Halifax, the team will widen its scope from Dalhousie University to embrace also Saint Mary's University (www.cco.ca).

The National Staff members of CCO are meeting at this time, for a more extended period, until August 31, which affords the Board and Staff the opportunity to interact at Mass, meals, praise and worship, some common sessions.

A very dynamic Spirit-led movement as may be seen in these photos:

Today, along with the Wednesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time, the Church's liturgy also permits the celebration of one of two optional memorials: that of a saintly French monarch or the Spanish founder of a religious community that offered free education to the children of the poor:

Grâce aux Chroniques écrites par Joinville, ami très proche du Roi, la mémoire populaire française garde de Louis IX l'image d'un souverain rendant la justice à l'ombre d'un vieux chêne proche de son château à Vincennes.

Saint Louis a en effet frappé ses contemporains par son sens de la justice, sa profonde piété et sa grande charité envers les pauvres.

A vingt ans, il épouse Marguerite de Provence et leur amour sera tendre et fidèle. Quand il part pour délivrer la Terre Sainte en 1248, il s'embarque avec elle. Le roi est fait prisonnier. Une fois libéré et rentré dans son royaume, il y entreprend de grandes réformes en particulier l'interdiction du duel judiciaire.

Il fonde des hôpitaux et des monastères. Il réalise son grand projet : construire la Sainte-Chapelle comme une châsse de lumière et de vitraux destinée à recueillir des reliques, surtout la Couronne d'épines qu'il a acquise auprès de l'empereur latin de Constantinople. Il donne à sa soeur, la bienheureuse Isabelle, le terrain de Longchamp pour y fonder une abbaye de religieuses de Sainte-Claire.

Son royaume connaît une période de plein développement culturel, intellectuel et théologique. Saint Louis aime recevoir à sa table saint Bonaventure et saint Thomas d'Aquin. Avec Robert de Sorbon, il fonde la Sorbonne (1257). Il suit avec attention l'achèvement de la cathédrale Notre-Dame et surtout les grandes rosaces (1255) et les porches (www.nominis.cef.fr).

Son plus grand souci est de pacifier, de réconcilier les ennemis et d'éteindre les conflits, en particulier entre la France et l'Angleterre (1258). Mais il rêve de retourner en Terre Sainte et de convertir le sultan d'Egypte. Il n'ira pas plus loin que Carthage, l'actuelle Tunis. La maladie a raison de lui le 25 août 1270.

* * *

O God, who brought Saint Louis from the cares of earthly rule to the glory of a heavenly realm, grant, we pray, through his intercession, that by fulfilling our duties on earth, we may seek out your eternal Kingdom. Through our Lord.

* * * * * *

St. Joseph, Founder of the Piarists



Goya, The Last Communion of Joseph Calasanz

From Aragon, where he was born in 1556, to Rome, where he died 92 years later, fortune alternately smiled and frowned on the work of Joseph Calasanz. A priest with university training in canon law and theology, respected for his wisdom and administrative expertise, he put aside his career because he was deeply concerned with the need for education of poor children.

When he was unable to get other institutes to undertake this apostolate at Rome, he and several companions personally provided a free school for deprived children. So overwhelming was the response that there was a constant need for larger facilities to house their effort.

Soon Pope Clement VIII gave support to the school, and this aid continued under Pope Paul V. Other schools were opened; other men were attracted to the work and in 1621 the community (for so the teachers lived) was recognized as a religious community, the Clerks Regular of Religious Schools (Piarists or Scolopi). Not long after, Joseph was appointed superior for life.

A combination of various prejudices and political ambition and maneuvering caused the institute much turmoil. Some did not favor educating the poor, for education would leave the poor dissatisfied with their lowly tasks for society!

Others were shocked that some of the Piarists were sent for instruction to Galileo (a friend of Joseph) as superior, thus dividing the members into opposite camps. Repeatedly investigated by papal commissions, Joseph was demoted; when the struggle within the institute persisted, the Piarists were suppressed. Only after Joseph’s death were they formally recognized as a religious community.

No one knew better than Joseph the need for the work he was doing; no one knew better than he how baseless were the charges brought against him. Yet if he were to work within the Church, he realized that he must submit to its authority, that he must accept a setback if he was unable to convince authorized investigators.

Even in the days after his own demotion, Joseph protected his persecutors against his enraged partisans; and when the community was suppressed, he stated with Job, to whom he was often compared: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21b).

While the prejudice, the scheming, and the ignorance of men often keep the truth from emerging for a long period of time, Joseph was convinced, even under suppression, that his institute would again be recognized and authorized. With this trust he joined exceptional patience and a genuine spirit of forgiveness.

* * *

O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Joseph Calasanz with such charity and patience that he laboured tirelessly to educate children and endow them with every virtue, grant, we pray, that we who venerate him as a teacher of wisdom may constantly imitate him, for he worked in harmony with your truth. Through our Lord.

* * * * * *

ANNUAL SUMMER BARBECUE

In August before folks return to school and to regular ministry, I invite my Jesuit confreres in Ottawa and those who happen to be passing through over to a barbecue on the residence's patio.

This year these included Jesuit Provincial Father Jim Webb; Father Bill Russell of the New England Province; Father Bill Robins originally from Winnipeg and for many years missioned to Kathmandu, Nepal, on home leave to celebrate his Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit and visiting his sister and nieces in the Capital).

In addition, those in attendance included two Jesuits moving this week to Toronto: Father William (Bill) Ryan, who has been in Ottawa since 1984 and Jason Vaz, a scholastic who recently completed his philosophical studies at Dominican University College.

Left to right: Jason Vaz, William Ryan

Father Ryan will have a lead role at the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice, while Jason will pursue a further degree in education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (O.I.S.E.)

Some photos of the visitors and the priest-residents:

Barbecued spare ribs, corn on the cob, salads and good company!

Left to right: Fathers Joseph Muldoon, E.V., Vernon Boyd, S.J., Jim Webb, S.J.

Canon Law students Father Lawrence Raisen (Diocese of Tyler, TX) and Deacon Hugues Bokouamanga, S.J. (Congo-Brazzaville) brace themselves for the new term at St. Paul University

Today the Church recalls the first century Saint Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles. All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles.

Bartholomew's name is a patronymic and means "son of Tolomai"; scholars believe he is the same as Nathanael mentioned in John, who says he is from Cana and that Jesus called him an "Israelite...incapable of deceit."


The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and beheaded by King Astyages. Tradition has the place as Abanopolis on the west coast of the Caspian Sea and that he also preached in Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt (from Catholic On Line [www.catholic.org]).

* * *

Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew clung wholeheartedly to your Son, and grant that through the help of his prayers your Church may become for all the nations the sacrament of salvation. Through our Lord.

* * * * * *

JESUIT VOW CEREMONY, MONTREAL

On Sunday, I attended the First Vows of five Jesuits who are completing their two-year novitiate in Montreal.

The Mass in the Church of the Gesu was presided by the new Jesuit Provinical of the Province of French Canada and Haiti, Pere Jean-Marc Biron.

Concelebrating with him were the English Canada Provincial Father James Webb and Jesuits from the two provinces.

The homilist was the director of novices, Father Erik Oland.

Following a Jesuit tradition begun at Montmartre in Paris on August 15, 1534 by St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Francis Xavier and their early companions, the vows are pronounced before the Eucharistic Lord immediately prior to Holy Communion (in that case, the presider was the only priest of their group Blessed Pierre Favre). It brought back happy memories of my First Vows on August 15, 1963.



At the close of Mass, the vovents received their "Vow Crucifix" from their respective provincial superiors.



A reception followed in the conference hall below the church:



* * * * * *

QUEENSHIP OF MARY HOUSE, OTTAWA

Members of a newly forming religious institute, under the patronage of Our Lady's title "The Queenship of Mary" celebrated their feast day on Sunday in their new quarters at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel's Parish House. They fed some 250 friends and benefactors in the parish hall after Mass.

As I could not attend, I presided at Mass yesterday as they began a week of intensive retreat and reflection on establishing their charism and its embodiment.

Following Mass, I was guided on a tour of their new quarters, then shared a coffee break and delighted in hearing recent news.

Pastor Father Stephen Liang banters with his new tenants

O God, you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with your love, so that, secluded from the world in the austerity of a life of penance, she might give herself to you alone; grant, we pray, that through her intercession, we may tread the paths of life on earth and drink at the stream of your delights in heaven. Through our Lord.

* * *

Isabel de Santa Maria de Flores was born in Lima, Peru of Spanish parents and took the name Rose at her confirmation.

Noted for her beauty, she rejected all suitors and refused to marry. She became a Dominican tertiary and lived as a recluse in a shack in the garden she worked to help her parents.

She is depicted in this window wearing a Carmelite habit which was the customary garb of the day. She holds a red rose symbolizing her purity and her name. On her head is a crown of thorns.

She was deeply devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus featured at the top of the window. The heart is encircled with a crown of thorns and has a cross and flames emerging from it. This flaming heart represents religious fervor and devotion to Jesus Christ.

Rose is the patron saint of all South America.

Above the Sacred Heart is the fish and loaves of bread. The German inscription reads, "Given by the Young Ladies Sodality". In the first decades of the parish, the women of the parish had two organizations; the Young Ladies Sodality was for the unmarried young women.

This is a print of a watercolor painting by Jennifer Walterscheid in 2008. The window can be found in St. Anthony Catholic Church in Wichita, Kansas (www.stanthonywitchita.com).

* * * * * *

BAVARIAN CLERICS DISCOVER EASTERN CANADA

Father Hans Feichtinger is a priest of the Diocese of Passau (the home diocese of the Holy Father); he spent a year studying in Halifax in 2003-2004 before taking up ministry in Rome.

Deacon Konrad Bestle belongs to the Diocese of Augsburg, where he will be ordained to the priesthood in June 2011.

These youthful clerics recently paid me a visit before moving on to Montreal (where I accompanied them Saturday and briefly yesterday). They move on to Quebec on Tuesday, then to Boston and back home.

While we were together, we had a grand time and here are a few photos of part of the excellent adventure:

A stop-off at the Nunciature, [Left to right:] Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop Lopez Quintana, Deacon Bestle, Father Feichtinger

Celebrating Mass with vestment from the Cathedral collection

Making like Canadians at a Tim Horton's

Tucking into the sweets and the caffeine

Montreal: at the upper level outside St. Joseph's Oratory

Wilf life! Encountering a family of racoons at the Mount Royal lookoff

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year "C") August 22, 2010 "LORD, WILL ONLY A FEW BE SAVED?" [Texts: Isaiah 66:18-21; [Psalm 117]; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30]

Some years ago, while crossing the university campus where I worked, I was approached by a young person who asked whether I had been saved? "Yes, I believe I have..." I replied, then hurried on. As I walked away, I thought of the many nuances I would need to add to explain what was involved in saying "yes".

Many have had the same issue put to them at their doorstep or at the mall by evangelists who ask such questions as, "have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour?" And the coming of the year 2012--with the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world that year--will surface concerns among many about who or how many will be saved.

In other words, things have not changed much since the time of Jesus. When people had been suggesting that perhaps nothing much would become of His movement of renewal in Israel, Jesus told two parables of God's Kingdom (Luke 13:18-22).

Though a mustard seed is the smallest it soon becomes a tree in which birds may nest. Once a tiny bit of leaven is mixed in with three measures of flour it soon leavens the whole batter. Discerning His message, someone asked Jesus, "Lord will only a few be saved?"

Typically, Jesus' answer was parabolic. The door is narrow. The owner of the house will refuse entry to many who presumed they had been invited. Still others from a long way off, however, will gain admission.

Faced with these facts, what is a disciple of Jesus to do? "Strive to enter through the narrow door". Jesus invited His hearers to "strive", a word used of athletes as they discipline themselves to win a competition. Though the Kingdom is God's gift, people must vigorously engage themselves in the process of their own salvation.

Paul summarized the paradoxical nature of salvation when he urged the Philippians to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (2:12-13).

Jesus engages His hearers by inviting them to imagine themselves outside a shut door. "You begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying 'Lord, open to us'". All of a sudden, the disguise is dropped and Jesus is revealed as the householder. He will say to the Galileans and Judeans of the first century, "I do not know where you come from; go away from Me all you evildoers".

Then, people will claim association with Jesus, "We ate and drank with You, and You taught in our streets". True companionship with Jesus, however, involves living by faith in God. So Jesus asked people to imagine themselves cast out where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" that they might have a change of heart, accept His message, and enter the end-time Kingdom.

When the Kingdom comes fully, many in Israel or the Church, who presumed themselves included, will be surprised to find themselves outside. By contrast, gentiles, the poor and outcast--whom others might have thought excluded--"will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the Kingdom of God".

In reply to the question, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" Jesus effectively answered "no". But His reply challenges each person with a counter-question, "will the saved include you?"

God's saving design for the whole world, proclaimed by Jesus, was beautifully foretold in the closing words of the Book of Isaiah. God's purpose is to take people from every nation, commissioning them for priestly service to the divine praise and glory.

The challenge in following Jesus was combined with a message of encouragement in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author argued that God's discipline which comes upon Christians as they follow Jesus' way may seem painful at times. But each should realize that such trials are like the discipline which a parent gives a child and are signs of love and acceptance.

Finally, divine discipline yields an abundant harvest of righteousness. Therefore, Christians are exhorted to lift up their drooping hands and strengthen their weak knees "so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed".

* * * * * *

THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY

Though not observed liturgically this year, today is the octave (eighth day following) of the Assumption of Mary and known as the day on which Mary is honoured as Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Angels and the Saints.



O God, you have given us the mother of your Son to be our queen and mother.
With the support of her prayers, may we come to share the glory of your children in the kingdom of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

O God, who to safeguard the Catholic faith and to restore all things in Christ, filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude, graciously grant that, following his teaching and example, we may gain an eternal prize. Through our Lord.



One hundred years ago this month on August 8, 1910, the Church began to encourage early (around age 7) admission of children to Confession and Holy Communion, recommending frequent, even daily reception of the Eucharist.

This centennial anniversary, on August 8, led the Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Canizares to suggest that children could and perhaps should be encouraged to be admitted to the reception of Holy Communion even earlier. Parents, pastors, teachers and catechists will have thoughts on the desirability and practicability of this proposal.

Here are excerpts from the text of the decree approved by Pope St. Pius X, whose feast is celebrated today:

QUAM SINGULARI Decree on First Communion from the Sacred Congregation of the Discipline of the Sacraments

The pages of the Gospel show clearly how special was that love for children which Christ showed while He was on earth. It was His delight to be in their midst; He was wont to lay His hands on them; He embraced them; and He blessed them. At the same time He was not pleased when they would be driven away by the disciples, whom He rebuked gravely with these words: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for of such is the kingdom of God." It is clearly seen how highly He held their innocence and the open simplicity of their souls on that occasion when He called a little child to Him and said to the disciples: "Again, I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven....And whoever receives one such little child for my sake, receives me."

The Catholic Church, bearing this in mind, took care even from the beginning to bring the little ones to Christ through Eucharistic Communion, which was administered even to nursing infants. This, as was prescribed in almost all ancient Ritual books, was done at Baptism until the thirteenth century, and this custom prevailed in some places even later. It is still found in the Greek and Oriental Churches. But to remove the danger that infants might eject the Consecrated Host, the custom obtained from the beginning of administering the Eucharist to them under the species of wine only.

Infants, however, not only at the time of Baptism, but also frequently thereafter were admitted to the sacred repast. In some churches it was the custom to give the Eucharist to the children immediately after the clergy; in others, the small fragments which remained after the Communion of the adults were given to the children.

This practice later died out in the Latin Church, and children were not permitted to approach the Holy Table until they had come to the use of reason and had some knowledge of this august Sacrament. This new practice, already accepted by certain local councils, was solemnly confirmed by the Fourth Council of the Lateran, in 1215, which promulgated its celebrated Canon XXI, whereby sacramental Confession and Holy Communion were made obligatory on the faithful after they had attained the use of reason, in these words: "All the faithful of both sexes shall, after reaching the years of discretion, make private confession of all their sins to their own priest at least once a year, and shall, according to their capacity, perform the enjoined penance; they shall also devoutly receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist at least at Easter time unless on the advice of their own priest, for some reasonable cause, it be deemed well to abstain for a while."

The Council of Trent, in no way condemning the ancient practice of administering the Eucharist to children before they had attained the use of reason, confirmed the Decree of the Lateran Council and declared anathema those who held otherwise: "If anyone denies that each and all Christians of both sexes are bound, when they have attained the years of discretion, to receive Communion every year at least at Easter, in accordance with the precept of Holy Mother Church, let him be anathema."

In accord with this Decree of the Lateran Council, still in effect, the faithful are obliged, as soon as they arrive at the years of discretion, to receive the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist at least once a year.

However, in the precise determination of "the age of reason or discretion" not a few errors and deplorable abuses have crept in during the course of time. There were some who maintained that one age of discretion must be assigned to reception of the Sacrament of Penance and another to the Holy Eucharist. They held that for Confession the age of discretion is reached when one can distinguish right from wrong, hence can commit sin; for Holy Eucharist, however, a greater age is required in which a full knowledge of matters of faith and a better preparation of the soul can be had. As a consequence, owing to various local customs and opinions, the age determined for the reception of First Communion was placed at ten years or twelve, and in places fourteen years or even more were required; and until that age children and youth were prohibited from Eucharistic Communion.

This practice of preventing the faithful from receiving on the plea of safeguarding the august Sacrament has been the cause of many evils. It happened that children in their innocence were forced away from the embrace of Christ and deprived of the food of their interior life; and from this it also happened that in their youth, destitute of this strong help, surrounded by so many temptations, they lost their innocence and fell into vicious habits even before tasting of the Sacred Mysteries. And even if a thorough instruction and a careful Sacramental Confession should precede Holy Communion, which does not everywhere occur, still the loss of first innocence is always to be deplored and might have been avoided by reception of the Eucharist in more tender years.

No less worthy of condemnation is that practice which prevails in many places prohibiting from Sacramental Confession children who have not yet made their First Holy Communion, or of not giving them absolution. Thus it happens that they, perhaps having fallen into serious sin, remain in that very dangerous state for a long time.

But worse still is the practice in certain places which prohibits children who have not yet made their First Communion from being fortified by the Holy Viaticum, even when they are in imminent danger of death; and thus, when they die they are buried with the rites due to infants and are deprived of the prayers of the Church.

Such is the injury caused by those who insist on extraordinary preparations for First Communion, beyond what is reasonable; and they doubtless do not realize that such precautions proceed from the errors of the Jansenists who contended that the Most Holy Eucharist is a reward rather than a remedy for human frailty. The Council of Trent, indeed, teaches otherwise when it calls the Eucharist, "An antidote whereby we may be freed from daily faults and be preserved from mortal sins." This doctrine was not long ago strongly emphasized by a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council given on December 20, 1905. It declared that daily approach to Communion is open to all, old and young, and two conditions only are required: the state of grace and a right intention....

The Roman Catechism adds this: "At what age children are to receive the Holy Mysteries no one can better judge than their father and the priest who is their confessor. For it is their duty to ascertain by questioning the children whether they have any understanding of this admirable Sacrament and if they have any desire for it."


After careful deliberation on all these points, this Sacred Congregation of the Discipline of the Sacraments, in a general meeting held on July 15, 1910, in order to remove the above-mentioned abuses and to bring about that children even from their tender years may be united to Jesus Christ, may live His life, and obtain protection from all danger of corruption, has deemed it needful to prescribe the following rules which are to be observed everywhere for the First Communion of children....

1. The age of discretion, both for Confession and for Holy Communion, is the time when a child begins to reason, that is about the seventh year, more or less. From that time on begins the obligation of fulfilling the precept of both Confession and Communion.

2. A full and perfect knowledge of Christian doctrine is not necessary either for First Confession or for First Communion. Afterwards, however, the child will be obliged to learn gradually the entire Catechism according to his ability.

3. The knowledge of religion which is required in a child in order to be properly prepared to receive First Communion is such that he will understand according to his capacity those Mysteries of faith which are necessary as a means of salvation () and that he can distinguish between the Bread of the Eucharist and ordinary, material bread, and thus he may receive Holy Communion with a devotion becoming his years.

4. The obligation of the precept of Confession and Communion which binds the child particularly affects those who have him in charge, namely, parents, confessor, teachers and the pastor. It belongs to the father, or the person taking his place, and to the confessor, according to the Roman Catechism, to admit a child to his First Communion.

5. The pastor should announce and hold a General Communion of the children once a year or more often, and he should on these occasions admit not only the First Communicants but also others who have already approached the Holy Table with the above-mentioned consent of their parents or confessor. Some days of instruction and preparation should be previously given to both classes of children.

6. Those who have charge of the children should zealously see to it that after their First Communion these children frequently approach the Holy Table, even daily if possible, as Jesus Christ and Mother Church desire, and let this be done with a devotion becoming their age. They must also bear in mind that very grave duty which obliged them to have the children attend the public Catechism classes; if this is not done, then they must supply religious instruction in some other way.

7. The custom of not admitting children to Confession or of not giving them absolution when they have already attained the use of reason must be entirely abandoned. The Ordinary shall see to it that this condition ceases absolutely, and he may, if necessary, use legal measures accordingly.

8. The practice of not administering the Viaticum and Extreme Unction to children who have attained the use of reason, and of burying them with the rite used for infants is a most intolerable abuse. The Ordinary should take very severe measures against those who do not give up the practice.

His Holiness, Pope Pius X, in an audience granted on the seventh day of this month, approved all the above decisions of this Sacred Congregation, and ordered this Decree to be published and promulgated....

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In Hope of the Resurrection…

Two of my Jesuit confreres passed away in the last two weeks. Each had experienced a complex journey in becoming a priest and living out their ministry.

I only met Fr. Dick Macdonald on a few occasions but always found him most encouraging and supportive; he had served in Ethiopia, India, among Canada's Native Peoples and, in the last dozen years as a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto.

Though he was older than me by a dozen years, I was Fr. Joe Fülöp rector during his seminary formation. His long road to the priesthood is heroic, as was the way he lived it out in illness and suffering.

Please keep these two ministers of the gospel, Christ's priests, in your thoughts and prayers.

Father Richard Macdonald died peacefully on August 6th, 2010 at Scarborough Centenary Hospital, Scarborough, Ontario. He was in the 83rd year of his life and 63rd year of religious life.

Richard "Dick" Macdonald was born in Westmount, Quebec, son of Alain Macdonald and Frances Minton. He studied at both St. Leo’s and then Loyola High School and entered the Society on September 13, 1947 at Guelph, Ontario. He returned to Montreal to study Philosophy at the Collège de l'Immaculée-Conception.

In 1954, he moved to Ethiopia in East Africa to teach English as a regency placement. From there he went to St Mary’s College, Kurseong in the Darjeeling district of North Eastern India where he studied Nepali for a year and then commenced his Theology studies.

After ordination in 1961 in India, he served as an assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Snows Parish, North Point, Darjeeling for a year and then to St. Joseph’s College, also in North Point, where he was professor of English and Moral Science. He served in different ministries in the Darjeeling district, St. John’s Church and Hayden Hall.

In 1979, he returned to Canada and worked at first in Toronto and Pickering. In 1981 he began his ministry with the Native People, first from Martyrs Shrine in Midland and then in 1984 moving to the Manitoulin District. He helped build the church in Little Current, Ontario. He lived and worked in native and non-native parishes, until 1997. At that time he became Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Motherhouse, Bayview Avenue, Willowdale, ON, until 2010. Throughout his life he was recognized as a compassionate pastor and a fine homilist.

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Father Joseph Fülöp was born in Szombathely, Hungary, on June 23rd, 1932. His elementary and high school studies were finished in his home town but, thinking already of priestly vocation, he enrolled in the Norbertine High School of St. Norbert. In 1948, the school was taken over by the State and it was renamed, so Joe graduated in the High School of Nagy Lajos, in 1950. After his graduation he began studies at the Sopron University in 1951, where he earned his geophysical engineering diploma in 1956.

In December of 1956, after the revolution, he left the country and with a branch of the University of Sopron arrived in Toronto. The Sopron Branch, with the help of the Canadian Mining Association and the University of Toronto, completed an English language course and he returned to school. In 1964, he was awarded the B.A.Sc. degree in geological engineering by the Faculty of Mining Engineering, University of Toronto. During the following year he was employed by the Gulf Oil Company in Calgary. In 1965-1967, he obtained a M.A.Sc degree (Soil Mechanics Option) at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo. Between 1967 and 1971 he worked as a project geophysicist for Huntec Limited and Kenting Limited. From 1971 to 1979 he was an independent geophysical consultant conducting surveys in Canada and overseas.

On January 25th, 1979 he entered the Hungarian Jesuit novitiate in Toronto, and after two years he made his first religious vows. He completed the necessary philosophical studies at the Fordham University, New York; (then) his theological studies took place in Regis College, Toronto, being completed in 1983 with an M.Div. degree. He was ordained priest at St.Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Toronto on November 19th, 1983 by Bishop Aloysius Ambrozic, auxiliary of Toronto. In 1984 he obtained a further theological degree, the M.Th.

In 1984-85, he spent a year of pastoral work in Montreal, at the Hungarian Church of Our Lady of Hungary. In 1985 he was appointed Pastor of St.Stephen of Hungary Church in Hamilton, where he spent 15 years taking care of the Hungarian congregation. On November 21st, 2000 he suddenly was stuck with inflammation of the brain-cortex through viruses, as well as a perforated stomach-ulcer and embolism. After three months of intensive hospital treatment he gradually got better, and moved to the Hungarian parish in Toronto, where unfortunately he was not able to do much pastoral work because of his limited speech. When his illness became more serious, he moved to St.Elizabeth Home in Hamilton, but had to be hospitalized occasionally. Finally, he died in the Home on August 15, 2010, in his 78th year of his life, 31st as a Jesuit, and 27th year as priest.

Visitation will be held at St. Stephen of Hungary Roman Catholic Church (130 Barton St E at Mary, Hamilton) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 from 7-9 p.m., with the Rosary at 7:30 p.m. There, the Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday August 25, 2010 at 11 a.m. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated in Toronto at St. Elizabeth of Hungary (432 Sheppard Ave. E.) on Friday, August 27 at 7 p.m., and another Mass will be offered at 11 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2010 in the chapel of St. Elizabeth Villa, 393 Rymal Rd. W., with interment following at 3:00 p.m. in the cemetery of St. Ladislaus Church in Courtland, ON.

R.I.P.

Today's memorial recalls St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy, one of the most commanding Church leaders in the first half of the twelfth century as well as one of the greatest spiritual masters of all times and the most powerful propagator of the Cistercian reform.

He was born in Fontaines-les-Dijon in 1090 and entered the Abbey of Citeaux in 1112, bringing thirty of his relatives with him, including five of his brothers--his youngest brother and his widowed father followed later.

After receiving a monastic formation from St. Stephen Harding, he was sent in 1115 to begin a new monastery near Aube: Clairvaux, the Valley of Light. As a young abbot he published a series of sermons on the Annunciation. These marked him not only as a most gifted spiritual writer but also as the "cithara of Mary," especially noted for his development of Mary's mediatorial role.

Bernard's spiritual writing as well as his extraordinary personal magnetism began to attract many to Clairvaux and the other Cistercian monasteries, leading to many new foundations. He was drawn into the controversy developing between the new monastic movement which he preeminently represented and the established Cluniac order, a branch of the Benedictines. This led to one of his most controversial and most popular works, his Apologia.

Bernard's dynamism soon reached far beyond monastic circles. He was sought as an advisor and mediator by the ruling powers of his age. More than any other he helped to bring about the healing of the papal schism which arose in 1130 with the election of the antipope Anacletus II. It cost Bernard eight years of laborious travel and skillful mediation. At the same time he labored for peace and reconciliation between England and France and among many lesser nobles. His influence mounted when his spiritual son was elected pope in 1145.

At Eugene III's command he preached the Second Crusade and sent vast armies on the road toward Jerusalem. In his last years he rose from his sickbed and went into the Rhineland to defend the Jews against a savage persecution.

Although he suffered from constant physical debility and had to govern a monastery that soon housed several hundred monks and was sending forth groups regularly to begin new monasteries (he personally saw to the establishment of sixty-five of the three hundred Cistercian monasteries founded during his thirty-eight years as abbot), he yet found time to compose many and varied spiritual works that still speak to us today.

He laid out a solid foundation for the spiritual life in his works on grace and free will, humility and love. His gifts as a theologian were called upon to respond to the dangerous teachings of the scintillating Peter Abelard, of Gilbert de la Porree and of Arnold of Brescia. His masterpiece, his Sermons on the Song of Songs, was begun in 1136 and was still in composition at the time of his death. With great simplicity and poetic grace Bernard writes of the deepest experiences of the mystical life in ways that became normative for all succeeding writers.

For Pope Eugene he wrote Five Books on Consideration, the bedside reading of Pope John XXIII and many other pontiffs through the centuries. Bernard died at Clairvaux on 20 August 1153. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III on 18 January 1174. Pope Pius VII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1830. --from M. Basil Pennington, OCSO, "St. Bernard of Clairvaux 1090-1153, Cistercian Doctor of the Church", in The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (A Michael Glazier Book), Liturgical Press (1995) 82.

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St. Bernard de Clairvaux, Abbé, Docteur de l'Eglise (+ 1153): A quoi pouvait rêver dans l'éclat de sa jeunesse le fils de Tescelin, chevalier du duc de Bourgogne, et de dame Aleth de Montbard, si bonne chrétienne? de chasses ou de tournois? de chants de guerre ou de galantes conquêtes? En tous cas, certainement pas de vie monastique comme il en fera le choix à l'âge de vingt-trois ans. D'autant qu'il entraînait avec lui une trentaine de jeunes en quête d'absolu...

Dès 1115, après trois années de vie monastique à Citeaux, Bernard est envoyé à Clairvaux pour y fonder l'abbaye dont il restera père-abbé jusqu'à sa mort. Mais loin de rester cloîtré il parcourt les routes d'Europe devenant, comme on a pu l'écrire, «la conscience de l'Eglise de son temps».

Il vient plusieurs fois à Paris, à Saint Pierre de Montmartre, à la chapelle du Martyrium, à la chapelle Saint Aignan où il vient prier souvent devant la statue de la Vierge qui se trouve maintenant à Notre-Dame de Paris. Sa correspondance abondante avec des princes, des frères moines ou des jeunes gens qui requièrent son conseil ne l'empêche pas de se consacrer à la contemplation tout autant qu'à l'action directe dans la société de son temps.

Infatigable fondateur, on le voit sur sa mule, traînant sur les routes d'Europe sa santé délabrée et son enthousiasme spirituel. Sa réforme monastique l'oppose à l'Ordre de Cluny dont il jugeait l'interprétation de la règle de saint Benoît trop accommodante. A sa mort, en 1153, ce sont trois cent quarante-trois abbayes cisterciennes qui auront surgi du sol européen.

Au cours de l'audience générale, le 21 octobre 2009, le Pape a évoqué la figure de Bernard de Clairvaux (1090-1153), considéré comme le dernier Père de l'Eglise car il relança et rénova la théologie des Pères des premiers siècles. Né en Bourgogne, il entra à vingt ans au monastère de Citeaux, et le troisième abbé, saint Etienne Harding, l'envoya fonder en 1115 celui de Clairvaux, dont il devint l'abbé. Il "y introduisit une vie sobre et mesurée à tout point de vue, nourriture, habillement, bâtiments, tournée également vers l'assistance aux pauvres".

Ce fut le succès de Clairvaux, dont la communauté ne cessa de grandir et d'essaimer. "Bernard entretint une vaste correspondance et composa de nombreux sermons et traités. A partir de 1130, il s'intéressa aux graves problèmes qui affectaient l'Eglise et la papauté. Il combattit aussi l'hérésie cathare dont les fidèles dépréciaient le Créateur en méprisant la matière et le corps. Il condamna la montée de l'anti-sémitisme et défendit les juifs".

Benoît XVI a ensuite indiqué que les aspects majeurs de la doctrine de saint Bernard regardaient Jésus et Marie. "S'il n'apporta pas d'orientations nouvelles à la recherche théologique, il s'est révélé être un théologien contemplatif et mystique" pour qui "la connaissance de Dieu est une expérience profondément personnelle du Christ et de son amour".

Ceci est valable pour tout chrétien car la foi est avant tout recherche de l'amitié de Jésus. Bernard ne doutait pas non plus que l'on parvient à Jésus par Marie. Ainsi souligna-t-il "la place privilégiée de la Vierge dans l'économie du salut, due à la participation de la Mère au sacrifice du Fils". Les réflexions de saint Bernard, a ajouté le Saint-Père, "interpellent justement, aujourd'hui encore, théologiens et croyants.

Trop souvent on entend résoudre par la seule force de la raison les questions fondamentales sur Dieu, l'homme et le monde. En se fondant sur la Bible et les Pères, Bernard montre que sans une foi profonde, alimentée par la prière et la contemplation... toute réflexion sur les mystères de Dieu risque de n'être qu'un simple exercice intellectuel sans la moindre crédibilité.

La théologie conduit à la science des saints, à leurs intuitions des mystères et à leur sagesse, don de l'Esprit, référence de toute pensée théologique... au final, le modèle le plus authentique du théologien et de l'évangélisateur est l'apôtre Jean, qui appuya sa tête sur le coeur du Maître".
(source: VIS 091021 410)

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O God who made of the Abbot Saint Bernard a man consumed with zeal for your house and a light shining and burning in your Church, grant, through his intercession, that we may be on fire with the same spirit and walk always as children on light. Through our Lord.

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CARDINAL TOPPO IN CANADA

Yesterday, I had the honour of meeting Cardinal Toppo who is in North America to promote interest and garner support for his dream, shared by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, that of a new teaching hospital that would serve the needs of the poor in northern India. Having met the Speaker of the Senate, Senator Kinsella on several occasions, His Eminence accepted an invitation from him to explain this project to parties interested in assisting India and to attend a reception and dinner in his honour last evening on Parliament Hill.

Here are couple of photos from his visit to my office and the dinner:




This is some of the information available on several websites on this leader of the Church in India and on the global scene:

Cardinal Telesphore Placidus TOPPO, 70, is the Archbishop of Ranchi in the Northeast of India. Named a cardinal on October 21, 2003, he is a Cardinal Priest of the Roman Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony at Vitinia.

Born on October 15, 1939 in Chainpur (India), the 8th of 10 children, he studied in Ranchi and Rome and speaks his native Oraon, as well as Hindu, Sadri, English and Italian; he was ordained a priest on 3 May 1969. Appointed Bishop of Dumka at the age of 38 on June 8, 1978 (one of the last episcopal appointments by Pope Paul VI) and consecrated on 7 October 1978 by Archbishop Kerkatta of Ranchi. Named Coadjutor Archbishop of Ranchi on November 8, 1984, he succeeded to full governance of the Archdiocese on August 7, 1985.

A festive celebration of his Silver Jubilee as Archbishop of Ranchi will take place on October 7 this year.

Ad multos annos, Your Eminence!

Today's Optional Memorial celebrates John Eudes, who was born in 1601, in the village of Ri, in Normandy, France. After completing his studies at the Jesuit College in Caen, he entered the Congregation of the Oratory of France, founded in 1611 by Cardinal de Bérulle.

Accepted by the founder himself on March 25, 1623, John Eudes was ordained to the priesthood on December 20, 1625. During that time, he assimilated the Christocentric spiritual thought of de Bérulle and shared his enthusiasm for "restoring the priestly order to its full splendor". Imbued with this spirit, as an apostolic missionary, he evangelized many towns and cities of Normandy, Ile-de-France, Burgundy and Brittany.

He recognized the pressing need for contributing to a reform of the clergy, and founding a seminary at Caen appeared to him as indispensable. To do so, he left the Oratory and, on March 25, 1643, with a few other priests, founded a congregation dedicated to the spiritual and doctrinal formation of priests and candidates to the priesthood, while pursuing the work of parish missions. Other seminaries were soon added to the one at Caen. Thus, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary was born.

A man of accomplishments, he also founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity to provide haven and assistance to women and young girls mistreated by life.

He brought people to love Christ and the Virgin Mary by speaking tirelessly about their Hearts, the sign of the love God shows for us and the communion to which we are called.

To offer them liturgical worship, he composed Masses and Offices in their honor and had the first Feast of the Holy Heart of Mary celebrated on February 8, 1648, at Autun, and the Feast of the the Heart of Jesus celebrated on October 20, 1672.

Moreover, through his many writings, he helped spread the spiritual teaching of his masters who were members of Bérulle's Oratory, while giving it his own personal touch to the point where he came to be regarded as a spiritual master in his own right.

He died on August 19, 1680 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 31, 1925.

The Eudists: After the death of its founder, the Congregation continued to develop. On the eve of the French Revolution (1789), Eudists directed some fifteen seminaries as well as a few colleges and parishes.

The Revolution closed the houses and scattered the Fathers. Four of them, including François-Louis Hébert, coadjutor to the Superior General, were martyred in Paris and beatified in 1926.

Slowly and with great difficulty, the Congregation was restored in 1826 by one of its former members, Father Pierre Blanchard. The Eudists then concentrated their efforts on the urgent task of providing Christian education in colleges.

From 1883 on, the opening of several seminaries in Colombia made it possible for them to resume the traditional work of their society. In 1890, they settled in Canada (www.eudistes.org).

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St. Jean Eudes: fondateur des Eudistes et de l'Institut Notre-Dame de Charité (+ 1680)

Il est contemporain de saint Vincent de Paul et sa vocation s'explique en grande partie par la situation religieuse de la France à son époque.

Le peuple, écrit-il, «avait remplacé la foi par la sorcellerie et la superstition»; les puissants «donnaient l'exemple de tous les vices»; les prêtres étaient «ignorants et souvent corrompus, abandonnant leur troupeau dès qu'apparaissaient la peste ou une épidémie».

Pour y remédier, s'appuyant sur ses dons évidents pour la prédication, il organise des «missions paroissiales», en Bretagne, en Normandie, en Bourgogne et jusqu'à la cour du roi Louis XIV, pour une annonce systématique de l'Evangile, près de cent quinze missions entre 1632 et 1675.

Pour mieux se consacrer à cet apostolat, il quitte l'Oratoire en 1643 et fonde, à Caen, "la Congrégation de Jésus et de Marie" (les Pères eudistes), qui se voue aux missions ainsi qu'à la fondation des séminaires pour la formation d'un meilleur clergé.

En 1642, il crée également "l'Institut Notre-Dame de Charité", dont les religieuses se consacreront, entre autres ministères, à la réhabilitation des femmes prostituées. Son action s'appuie sur la compassion du cœur de Marie et la miséricorde du coeur de Jésus.

Ayant renoncé à la charge de premier supérieur général de sa congrégation, il s'éteint à Caen en 1680, à l'âge de soixante-dix neuf ans.

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O God, who wonderfully chose the Priest Saint John Eudes to proclaim the unfathomable riches of Christ, grant us by his example and teachings that growing in knowledge of you, we may live faithfully by the light of the Gospel. Through our Lord.

Mosaika – Sound and Light Show: Canada through the eyes of its people



A couple of nights back, I wandered over to Parliament Hill to take in the new sound and light show that uses the House of Commons and the Peace Tower as its backdrop. Like many Ottawa residents I had not gone before because "I can go anytime". A visitor from out of town gave it a glowing recommendation.

Truly, it takes light and sound technology to an extraordinary new level, one that literally keeps everyone in awe, drawing applause at its close.

Mosaika is the story of Canada – our story. A powerful narrative set against the spectacular backdrop of Parliament Hill, Mosaika takes the audience on an unforgettable journey of sound and light, as we explore Canada’s physical, historical and cultural landscapes.

This free, bilingual show is presented nightly at 9:30PM, through September 12, 2010.

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Blogging milestone: today's entry, according to the "Blogger" counter, is daily post #500 since April 2009 (H/T Fiat 500).

St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga was a social activist and founder of El Hogar de Cristo in Chile.

Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga (1901-1952) is famous as a pioneer in the Latin American Church’s activities in favor of the working poor.

The founder of El Hogar de Cristo directly experienced poverty as a young man when his mother was forced to sell the family farm after his father’s death. However, a scholarship allowed Hurtado to study at the Jesuit school in Santiago.

He joined the Jesuits in 1923 but the Spanish government dissolved the Society of Jesus in 1932 while Hurtado was studying theology; the young Chilean finished his studies in Belgium where he was ordained. On returning to Chile, Hurtado exercised a typical Jesuit ministry of teaching and giving retreats.

His concern for the poor eventually led him to become director of Catholic Action, and in 1944 to ask women on a retreat to think of the men, women and children who were without a home to live in.

The women responded with donations which Hurtado used to open first a hospice for youth and then one for women and children. This was the beginning of El Hogar de Cristo. "Hogar" means home, and the name signifies that people were welcomed into Christ's home. The movement spread beyond Chile and throughout South America.

In 1947 he founded Asociación Sindical Chilena, a trade union movement. Hurtado also wrote three books on social issues and in 1951 started a monthly magazine, Mensaje ("Message") that explains the Church's social teaching and addresses social issues.

O God, in Saint Albert Hurtado, your Priest, you have given us a magnificent sign of your love; through his intercession grant that, always faithful to your will, we may love all with the sentiments of your Son and thus ceaselessly promote your Kingdom of justice, love and peace. Through our Lord.

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One of the first place names I learned was that of my father's hometown, Cupids, Newfoundland. He would show us coins that he had brought from home when he left to go to Canada as a teenager to find work in Montreal (eventually as an accountant with Canada Packers for several decades).

After Dad died in 1970, news from and about that rugged outpost--mainly Protestant, the Catholics belonged to St. Patrick's Parish in nearby Brigus--was shared with me by my uncle Bill and Aunt Hazel, who lived in in an apartment in Toronto's Rexdale area after their home had been expropriated to make way for the 427-401 expansions.

Eventually, I made my way there on several occasions (while giving a retreat to the priests of Grand Falls in the early 1980s, attending meetings of the Atlantic Episcopal Assembly and even, in 2001, participating in the ordination of Martin W. Currie as the eighth bishop of my dad's home diocese [known from 1856-1958 as Harbour Grace, briefly as Harbour Grace-Grand Falls (1958-64) and since 1964 as Grand Falls].

My cousins Bill and Jim Prendergast died childless, so there are no cousins bearing the Prendergast name there (though Jim's widow Margaret still lives in Cupids Crossing), and I have have a cousin Rita Butler living in the tiny village that is the centre of some attention this week as Governor General Michaelle Jean and other dignitaries are present and natives "come home" for the jubilee.

All the best to everyone in Cupids!

Brigus, NL

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THE STORY OF CUPIDS

It was called Cupers Cove. The first planned settlement in this New Founde Land.

It was a rugged vista, wild and ferocious in its beauty, cruel and unforgiving to those who took it for granted. And yet John Guy and his brave pioneers thrived, prospered, explored and conquered.

Through tenacity and daring, and no small measure of sweat and toil, they wove the fabric of a culture that has resonated across the ebb and flow of centuries.

Over the next 400 years, English settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador and the rest of British North America grew to become what is now English Canada. But it all started in 1610 with John Guy’s fateful choice of Cupids as his new home.

* * *

With the first ever English colony in Canada established at Cupids in August 1610, so began the adventure of settlement in Newfoundland. Who could have predicted when John Guy and 39 faithful followers traversed the Atlantic all those years ago, that they would plant the seed from which so many communities would appear, evolve and flourish?

Amid these blossoming settlements can be found many a fine yarn (the sort of spellbinding story that has become a mainstay of the province over the years). Many of these seemingly tall tales are founded in truth however, with pillaging pirates, devastating fires and numerous "foreigners" - both friendly and otherwise – making their way and having their say on these places that still thrive today.

Heart’s Content, for instance, was well known to the settlers of Cupers Cove. Indeed the first references to this community can be found in the writings of the Cupers Cove colonists. At the time of the establishment of Cupers Cove, Heart’s Content was the territory of the native Beothuk, and it is recorded that John Guy’s Trinity Cove expedition party of 1612 spent several nights in Heart’s Content.

Soon after, Sir Percival Willoughby, another son of the London and Bristol Company that had set in motion Guy’s ventures into Newfoundland, made numerous attempts to settle people on this land. Heart’s Content is also notable for attacks by the French towards the latter part of the 17th century, though the settlers there made a quick recovery from these advances. In more recent history, Heart’s Content became world famous as the landing site for the first Transatlantic cable, instantly establishing communications between Old World Europe and the New Word of North America.

In the spring of 1612 the colonists at Cupids established a second colony at Renews on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula. However, they were forced to abandon it shortly after due to the constant threat posed by the nefarious pirate Peter Easton. Though it took some time, Renews was eventually settled permanently as noted in the first census of Newfoundland taken in 1675, recording five families living there.

Harbour Grace is another community whose roots are a direct by-product of the establishment of Cupids. Around 1616, the Bristol Company of Merchant Venturers decided to branch out from the Cupids colony and establish their own colony at Harbour Grace which they called "Bristol’s Hope". This is not the same Bristol’s Hope we know today, for in the 17th century it was known as Musket’s Cove. Prior to this period, the area was known as the location of the pirate Peter Easton’s fort, though it can be safely assumed that the settlers that followed were far more respectable. Harbour Grace has been settled ever since and is the proudly the second oldest English settlement in Canada.

The two Perlicans, Old and New, can also be traced back to the original settlement at Cupids. Old Perlican is aptly named, as one of the oldest fishing communities in Newfoundland, and because initial references to this history-rich place actually pre-date John Guy’s Cupids settlement, coming in a 1597 report penned by Captain Charles Lee. However, it would not be until the 1630s that Old Perlican was settled, having been repeatedly mentioned by Guy during his exploits in Trinity Bay some two decades earlier.

Some years later, Old Perlican would also suffer at the hands of the French, being captured and burned on February 4, 1697, and again on March 29, 1705. The latter attack would be followed up in May of the same year, this time resulting in the settlement being completely razed to the ground. Despite these attacks, and more sporadic French invasions in the following few years, Old Perlican showed the kind of resourcefulness and determination upon which it had been built, recovering to still live on today.

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Yet another modern-day Newfoundland town the roots of which can be traced back to the original Cupers Cove settlement is Bay De Verde. This unusual appellation comes from the Portuguese, literally meaning “Green Bay”. This serves as a reminder that it was not only the English and French that fished the area during the 16th century, but also the Portuguese and Spanish.

In 1610, John Guy reported that some among his men were fishing in the waters off “Green Bay”, and even saw a shallop sunk at Bay De Verde in a botched bid by his settlers to retrieve an anchor. Bay De Verde was settled proper in 1637, when, on command of King Charles I, Sir David Kirke and his partners were granted fishing rights to a number of Newfoundland harbours, including Bay De Verde. The Taverner family was among the more important to settle here, in the 1650s. Bay De Verde also fell foul of unwelcome French interest in 1697, another town burned in the furious and aggressive campaign led by d’Iberville. Despite this, and a repeat attack in 1705, Bay De Verde continued to thrive and grow into the proud community it still is today.

Other neighbouring communities, such as Brigus and Bryant’s Cove share similar stories of English heritage, French aggression, and determined survival - seemingly tall tales of intrepid survival, but as true as the proud people that still call these historic settlements home today. And, always-superb subject matter for what Newfoundlanders treasure most – a good yarn told over a steaming cup of English tea!

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There was some good news, however, with the first child born on March 27. A son to Nicholas Guy and his wife, the boy became the first English child born in Canada.

In April 1613, John Guy left Newfoundland indefinitely. He would go on to enjoy great success as a Member of Parliament back in his native England, and campaigned vehemently for the rights of settlers back in Newfoundland throughout his political career.

In 1615, John Mason assumed the role of governor of the Newfoundland colony. In a highly successful 6-year reign, Mason chased out the pirate threat and would later go on to establish new colonies in Maine and New Hampshire. It is not clear who, if anyone, succeeded Mason as governor; however, the settlement at Cupers Cove carried on, growing and flourishing into the vibrant and proud community we today call Cupids (www.cupids400.com).

On Saturday, I dropped by to help welcome the young pro-lifers who had worked from British Columbia to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, proclaiming by their march their commitment to the Gospel of Life.

I have been informed that some of the walkers, after a short celebration at St. Theresa's Church following the rally on Parliament Hill, addressed the faithful briefly at the close of Mass at some diocesan parishes this weekend. Here are some photos of the welcome party and their arrival:

Today's liturgy allows an optional memorial (OM) of St. Stephen the Great (977-1038), who was the son of the Magyar chieftain Geza; Stephen succeeded him as leader in 997.

Already raised a Christian, in 996 Stephen wed the daughter of Duke Henry II of Bavaria and devoted much of his reign to the promotion of the Christian faith. He gave his patronage to Church leaders, helped build churches, and was a proponent of the rights of the Holy See.

Stephen also crushed the pagan counterreaction to Christianity, forcibly converting the so-called Black Hungarians after their failed rebellion. In recognition of his efforts, Stephen was anoited king of Hungary in 1000, receiving the cross and crown from Pope Sylvester II.

The remainder of his reign was taken up with the consolidation of the Christian hold on the region. His crown and regalia became beloved symbols of the Hungarian nation, and Stephen was venerated as the ideal Christian king.

Canonized in 1083 by Pope St. Gregory VII, he became the patron saint of Hungary.

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HOSPITALITY IN SUMMER

Over the weeks of summer I have enjoyed the hospitality from a number of friends, family and acquiantances. Recently, I have had the opportunity to welcome fellow bishops and other friends to Ottawa and/or my residence.

Ottawa is also home for some who are now serving the Church elsewhere. Though construction work has been horrendous and the humidity difficult to bear some days, Ottawa's charms beckon to those returning or coming to the Capital for the first time. Herewith photos of visitors who have not yet appeared on the blog:

Left to right: Ottawa seminarian Matthew Keshwah, who has been staying with us over the summer, welcomed classmates Joshua Roldan (Toronto Archdiocese) and Justin Peter (Hamilton Diocese) for a few days on their first visit to the Capital Region

Msgr Jose Bettencourt, Ottawa Archdiocese's man at the Secretariat of State on vacation this month and Saint-Boniface Emeritus Archbishop Emelius Goulet, p.s.s., in town for a family wedding

Father Joe Muldoon welcomes his mother to our home as they prepare for a few days of travel

Daru-Kiunga Bishop Gilles Cote, SMM, a son of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish (Vanier), on an extended home visit from Papua-New Guinea in celebration of his 40th anniversary of priestly ordination

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Cardinal Marc Ouellet's Farewell

Photo: Laetitia Deconinck, Le Soleil

Other commitments (celebration of the Centennial of both the Visitandine Sisters and the Grotto of Notre de Lourdes de Vanier) precluded my presence at the farewell Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Ouellet's ministry as Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of the Church in Canada. Some of our Ottawa youth attended the prayer vigil in thanksgiving for his ministry here and his future service in Rome and I sent a note to His Eminence through their good offices.

Today, I was pleased to read in the on-line edition of Le Soleil, the following report by Josée Guimond of his leave-taking at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre's basilica yesterday afternoon (www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites):

(Québec) C'est avec émotion que le cardinal Marc Ouellet a fait ses adieux à ses fidèles, dimanche, en célébrant sa dernière messe au Québec, dans la plus grande église de son diocèse, la basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, bondée pour l'occasion. Sans revenir sur ses déclarations passées, souvent controversées, Mgr Ouellet a demandé «pardon» à ceux qu'il a pu heurter et peiner, lors de certains débats publics, tout en ajoutant que «le message de la vérité n'est pas toujours le bienvenu.»

Il faisait une chaleur tropicale dans la basilique, hier, où s'étaient entassées plus de 2000 personnes, dont 800 qui ont assisté à la célébration sur écran, dans la crypte plus bas, mais que le cardinal a pris soin d'aller rencontrer. Dans le parterre principal, 500 places étaient réservées à des dignitaires, employés, proches du diocèse, de même qu'à plus de 125 prêtres.

Mgr Ouellet a aussi pu compter sur 25 évêques canadiens, qui lui ont servi de «concélébrants». Parmi eux, l'archevêque émérite de Québec, Mgr Maurice Couture, le cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, de Montréal, ainsi que l'ambassadeur du pape au Canada, le nonce apostolique Pedro Lopez Quintana. Même l'évêque de la cathédrale anglicane de Québec a tenu à venir saluer son confrère catholique, en assistant à la cérémonie.

Le premier ministre Jean Charest, prenant congé du congrès des jeunes de son parti, était là, avec sa femme Michèle. S'adressant brièvement aux médias, M. Charest a rappelé qu'il n'était «pas toujours d'accord» avec les positions du cardinal, mais que Mgr Ouellet a «joué un rôle important», lors de ses huit ans comme primat de l'Église canadienne. Le lieutenant-gouverneur Pierre Duchesne était présent, la conseillère Michelle Morin-Doyle représentait Régis Labeaume, et la sénatrice Suzanne Duplessis servait d'émissaire au gouvernement canadien.

Le cardinal Ouellet a débuté sa dernière célébration sous les applaudissements nourris et chaleureux des fidèles. Parvenu à son homélie, il a voulu rappeler les bons souvenirs de son passage à l'archidiocèse de Québec, saluer ses proches et ses fidèles, et en a profité pour livrer un vibrant plaidoyer pour les Premières Nations. «Je souhaite que leurs droits ancestraux soient reconnus et que leurs projets de développement soient davantage soutenus par l'ensemble de la population canadienne», a-t-il dit.

Le cardinal a également souligné avoir «connu des joies profondes et de nombreuses consolations [...] au milieu des aléas qui ont marqué mon ministère [...], qu'il me coûte de quitter».

Mgr Ouellet a d'ailleurs laissé entendre, entre les lignes, que ses prises de position n'ont pas toujours été faciles pour lui, expliquant que le message de vérité «est une souffrance pour celui qui écoute et parfois pour le ministre qui l'exprime». L'homélie s'est terminée sous un tonnerre d'applaudissements, qui n'a fait qu'enfler durant plusieurs minutes. Lorsque le cardinal, très ému, a tenté de poursuivre la célébration, les cris ont fusé et les applaudissements ont repris de plus belle. Un grand moment d'émotion.

À la fin de la célébration, un cadeau a été remis au cardinal, pour souligner son départ, soit une statue du premier évêque du Québec, Mgr François de Laval. Mgr Ouellet a dit, en souriant, qu'il allait amener cette statue à Rome et que «peut-être, on va accélérer les choses», faisant référence à la canonisation de Mgr Laval, qui semble sur la glace, si on peut dire.

CHRIST'S SHARES HIS VICTORY OVER DEATH WITH MARY [Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 [Psalm 45]; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1:39-56]

Biblical literature and other Ancient Near Eastern writings depicted chosen people sharing visions of the heavenly world. And privileged individuals even entered heaven itself. This is the background to Mary's Assumption.

Having been assumed into heaven, Mary now shares fully in the triumph over death won by her Son, the risen Lord of life. Christian disciples believe that, one day, Christ will offer them participation in the victory of heavenly life that He has already shared with His Mother.

Before development of belief in resurrection--in late Old Testament times--the cosmology of the Bible assigned a dwelling in the heavens to God alone. Human beings belonged to earth and, at their deaths, descended to the shadowy underworld of Sheol. Heroes of the Bible went to rest with their forbears at death.

Enoch experienced a different fate: "Enoch walked with God. Then he vanished because God took him" (Genesis 5:24). Later traditions interpreted this as his assumption into heaven: "It was because of his faith that Enoch was taken up and did not have to experience death" (Hebrews 11:5).

In Revelation, John spoke of being taken up to heaven and witnessing God's saving purpose: "In my vision, I saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying 'Come up here: I will show you what is to come in the future'" (4:1).

An early and strong tradition interprets Revelation's image of the woman clothed with the sun as referring primarily to the church and secondarily to Mary, Mother of the Church.

Thus, it is the messianic community ("a woman clothed with the sun ... and on her head a crown of twelve stars")--the people of God established on the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles--that gives birth to the messiah ("a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations").

God's community is threatened by the great red dragon, a legendary symbol of all the enemies of God's people throughout history, from the Pharaoh of Egypt to the officials of the Roman empire in the author's day.

The imagery of Revelation is notoriously hard to decipher exactly, so it is difficult to interpret the identity of the great red dragon except in general terms.

However, given that seven and ten are numbers symbolizing fullness and completeness, the dragon associated with the bloody forces opposed to God (the colour red [cf. Revelation 6:4]) enjoys exceptional cunning ("seven heads" filled with intelligence) and power ("ten horns", symbols of might). With "seven diadems on his heads", he is a potent adversary, making pretensions to royal power.

This adversary of the community of faith stood before the woman who was about to bear a child to destroy it ("devour her child") once it was born. The child is referred to under the two symbols of his birth pangs and his being snatched away and taken to God and to his throne.

Within the book of Revelation, these terms allude to Jesus' death (his "birth", for he is frequently called "the first born from the dead"); his resurrection is depicted under an image used frequently in the New Testament, namely Jesus' exaltation to sit at God's right hand, equal with the Father in glory.

The identity of this special child is not made explicit, but our author wants the reader to understand a reference to the Messiah, who is not unknown but is clearly confessed throughout the book to be Jesus under a variety of titles. This is made explicit in the passage's concluding song of praise addressed to God and to his Messiah.

The "one thousand two hundred sixty days" is a standard figure describing a short length of time, one that reappears in several forms as three and a half years (or its variant, "time (1), times (+2), and half a time (+½)" [thus totalling 3 ½ times or years] or, alternatively, forty-two months).

What this short interval symbolizes is that the church will not have to wait long for God to bring salvation history to its glorious fulfilment.

What Christians celebrate in Mary's Assumption solemnity, then, is the destiny that awaits all believers when the glory of Christ's resurrection is revealed in them as it has been in her.

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O God, who looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary, raised her to such grace, that your Only Begotten Son was born of her according to the flesh, and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory; grant through her prayers, that saved by the mystery of your redemption, we may merit to be exalted by you on high. Through our Lord.